Syria crisis: Dozens killed by Aleppo university blasts

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

More than 50 people have been killed by two explosions at a university campus in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, activists and officials say.

The blasts reportedly struck an area between Aleppo University's halls of residence and the architecture faculty.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at 52, but Aleppo's governor said 82 people were killed.

State TV said "terrorists" had launched rockets at the campus, but activists blamed missiles fired by warplanes.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21029034

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. Activists claim it was an airstrike from a Syrian Air Force MiG...

...but that seems unlikely. This was government controlled territory. The government says it was suicide car bombs.

[pampango]

2. One would hope that eventually the World Court will have jusidiction over Syrian abuses

regardless of which side (or both) are guilty.

Over 50 Countries want Syria conflict referred to World Court

http://www.euronews.com/2013/01/15/over-50-countries-want-syria-conflict-referred-to-world-court/

[cqo_000]

3. Syria's UN Ambassador Condemns Aleppo Attack

January 16, 2013
Syria's ambassador to the United Nations has condemned as a "cowardly terrorist act" an attack at a university in Syria's biggest city, Aleppo.

Bashar Ja'afari said the explosions at Aleppo University on January 15 killed 82 students and wounded 162 more.

http://www.rferl.org/content/syria-aleppo-attack/24825050.html

[ellisonz]

4. I find it hard to believe that even the extremist Islamist groups...

...would devote resources away from fighting Assad to target university students.

Based on the video via the BBC story I would say it was something that came from the air - the apparent blast cloud is very vertical and the crater is substantial.

Al Jazeera Coverage: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/01/2013115135151522535.html

[dipsydoodle]

5. From todays Guardian

Syria: Russia blames opposition 'terrorists' for attack on Aleppo University – live updates

First-hand report from Aleppo

I’ve just been speaking to my colleague Martin Chulov, who has been in Aleppo today and yesterday.

Martin said the suspicion among Aleppo rebels was that the opposition jihadist group Jabhat al-Nusra was responsible for yesterday’s rocket attack on the university, which killed at least 87 people.

The death toll is particularly high … What this tells us is that these explosions were very large. They were extremely significant …

On the eastern side of Aleppo today, which is the rebel-held part of the city, there is much conjecture about who was responsible for what took place yesterday. The rebel groups are insisting that they have no toehold whatsoever in the far north-west of the city, which is where the university is. That’s an area that is controlled by loyalist militias and the loyalist militia the Shabiha. There is a very tight dragnet around it.

That said, there is rising suspicion that these blasts may have been caused by rockets which were fired from the countryside to the west of the city. Now that’s an area that is partly controlled by opposition groups, including the jihadist group Jabhat al-Nusra, who are yet to comment about government claims that terrorist groups such as themselves may have been responsible. Now, them not commenting is not unusual. They very rarely do talk … But this could well be a tipping point in terms of public perceptions in this Syrian civil war.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2013/jan/16/syria-us-denies-assad-regime-has-used-chemical-weapons-live-updates probably need to look for something like 2.50pm GMT.

[ellisonz]

7. If true...

...that would be foolish - the more secular rebel groups could turn on them.

[closeupready]

6. Yet, it's Mali where we are going to be sending troops.

Go figure.

[bemildred]

8. Coordinated car bombs kill 24 in northwest Syria

(Reuters) - Three car bombs exploded within minutes of each other in northwest Syria on Wednesday, killing at least two dozen people in a coordinated assault on government positions, a monitoring group said.

Fighting has spread throughout much of Syria and upended civilian life in many areas as rebels have pushed to uproot President Bashar al-Assad's better-equipped forces and tip the balance of the 22-month-old conflict.

The World Food Programme said Syria's government had authorized it to step up food aid to some 2.5 million people going hungry, but did not say when it would be able to reach them all.

---

Car bombs at government buildings and a checkpoint in Idlib province killed at least 24 people on Wednesday - most of them members of government forces - said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/16/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE90E0V820130116

[joshcryer]

9. 20 people in this picture were killed by this attack:

Heartbreaking.